8.17.2010

Hey, I've Lived There

One of the items on my Ultimate To DO list is to visit each of the 50 states (& D.C).

My only rule is that I need photographic proof of my visit – preferably with ME in the shot.

Back in July I posted the first installment of the pictures I’ve collected so far. Now, even though I’ve probably been to about 46 of the states (I'm including DC in that number) I either didn’t take a picture or I can’t find a picture that I took. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just means I get to visit a few places again. I’ve found 26 pictures and am proud to be half of the way there! Yahoo! Having only 26 means there are still plenty of excuses to take trips around these beautiful United States.

As I mentioned last time, instead of overloading you with all the pictures at once, I'm giving them to you in smaller batches. Today’s installment is entitled, “Hey, I’ve lived There!”

First up, we have the great state of Iowa.

While I wasn’t born in Iowa, my poppy was transferred there shortly after my birth. We lived in Des Moines for the first five years of my life. See that little boy sitting on the mustachioed man’s lap, that’s me. Meet my Mom, my Pops, and his parents who are better known to me as Grandma and Grandpa - 30+ years ago. This is one of my very favorite pictures of all time (yes, I say that a lot) and I am convinced it is partly to blame for my giant sized love of little brick bungalows.

Some day, I intend to live in another one as wonderful as I remember this little house on 32nd Street being.

Next comes The Show-Me State, Missouri.

I was actually born in St. Louis and we moved back there from Des Moines when I was 5. I lived in St. Louis until I left for college and just travelled a few hours away to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia. This is a small portion of one side of many sided family. We were all getting ready to walk the track around Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s hard for me to choose which is most iconic when photographing St. Louis… the Arch which you see in the background or anything to do with Cardinals baseball. (I guess Budweiser Beer comes in a CLOSE third) I figured this picture captured both AND communicates just a taste of why I miss St. Louis so very, very much. They look crazy, and they are (both those pictured and those who aren’t), but my family is indescribably fantastic.

Third in line we have a state that in my mind is dominated by one city, New York.

I moved to NYC (I actually lived in Queens) after college. I got a job working for the now defunct TWA as a flight attendant and was super stoked when they informed me that my base would be NYC. I only lived there less than a year (because among other things, I went totally broke making NO money and enjoying everything the city had to offer) but it was enough to prove to me that it IS the most magical city on Earth. Sometimes I sound like a broken record, huh?

Last but not least (depending on what day you ask me) we have Tennessee.

This is where we live now. You all know the story. If you’re new here you can catch up HERE. Tennessee has been a real roller coaster ride in the almost four years that we’ve been trapped lived here. And though on a map it isn’t so far away from the Midwest, culturally it might as well be on the other side of the Universe. That has been difficult and amazingly rewarding since it’s forced me to re-evaluate so many things and get to know stuff about myself I might never have discovered otherwise.

There you have it, and there you are. Those are the four states in which I’ve lived. I'm not opposed to adding to the list or even expanding it to include international locales. Is anyone looking to hire a pilot?